Hristo KyuchukovUniversity of Silesia in Katowice · Faculty of Arts and Educational Science
Hristo Kyuchukov
Ph. D., DrSc
About
90
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Introduction
I am psycholinguist interested on language and cognitive development of bilingual/multilingual minority, migrant and refugee children. I also work on their intercultural educational issues. I also do reserach on Turkis/Turkic and Romani languages.
Publications
Publications (90)
This collection of research papers from the International Conference
on Inclusive Education of Roma Children held in Sofia introduces new information, results of recent research with Roma children, and issues with
their inclusion and integration.
The articles in the collection can be grouped as follows:
1. Articles introducing international experie...
In my student years at the beginning of the 1990s at Sofia University, Bulgaria, fate led me to study with two extraordinary scholars – Prof. Dr. Miroslav Yanakiev and Prof. Dr. Encho Gerganov. Prof. Yanakiev laid the foundations of Bulgarian psycholinguistics, introducing the statistical methods in linguistics, and as his student, Prof. Gerganov c...
The study of short-term memory and language learning conducted with primary school Roma children in Cyprus aimed to determine how children who grow up in economically disadvantaged families learn their mother tongue (L1) Turkish and their second language (L2) Cypriot Greek. Two groups of children (20 children aged 8 and 20 children aged 10), a tota...
Purpose The purpose of the study is to examine Learnability Theory (Valiant, 1984) in the process of learning of L2 Bulgarian and Czech languages by preschool Roma children. Roma children grow up in a rich oral culture and learn their mother tongue from the members of extended families, but how they learn the L2 and which factors facilitate the pro...
Juliana Stojanova’s main scientific interest is the acquisition of Bulgarian as a first language – with an emphasis on the early stages, and this is well shown in her last monograph published in 2021 by the Sofia University Press. The content of the proposed monograph follows the topic of the course in psycholinguistics, which the author offers as...
A study with 36 German participants (divided in 3 age groups: 1 gr. 7-11 years; 2 gr. 12-18 years and 3 gr. 19-50 years) was conducted to test the Polyvagal Theory. Our data analysis evaluated a therapeutic intervention using the so-called SSP (Safe and Sound Protocol) developed by Stephen Porges. Frequency modulated music stimulates the parasympat...
The article analyses the forms of «antigypsyism»towards the use of Romani language, education of Roma children in their mother tongue and the linguistic human rights of Roma. After defining the «hate speech» and «antigypsyism», «antiziganism», «online hate» given by different authors, research with some Roma communities in Slovakia is presented. Th...
This is the first known study of the socio-cognitive development of Lyuli children, a Roma-type group living in Bukhara in Uzbekistan. The research was conducted in schools in Bukhara serving both Lyuli children and Uzbek children, both of whom are multi-lingual but whose sociolinguistic circumstances are somewhat different. There has been less cro...
Two-part s-possessives such as the dad’s kid’s bike admit at least two distinct interpretations: the dad has a kid who has a bike, or the dad has a bike that is made for kids. We propose that the former interpretation derives from recursively embedding DP-possessives, and the latter from representing kid’s bike as a generic NP-possessive. According...
Annotation The article analyses the forms of «antigypsyism» towards the use of Romani language, education of Roma children in their mother tongue and the linguistic human rights of Roma. After defining the «hate speech» and «antigypsyism», «antiziganism», «online hate» given by different authors, research with some Roma communities in Slovakia is p...
Мета. Описати і презентувати розроблену співавторами нову наукову теорію – систему узагальнених фактів, знань і досвіду щодо розкриття різносторонності генезису психолінгвістичних явищ, властивих дітям дошкільного віку. Методи. Використовувався комплекс теоретичних методів аналізу, дослідницького синтезу й узагальнення великої кількості джерел: по-...
Мета. Встановити взаємозалежності в процесах опанування L1 й оволодіння мовленням дітьми на дошкільному й шкільному етапах комунікативного онтогенезу; продемонструвати вирішальну роль мовної компетенції і мовленнєвої компетентності дошкільників у засвоєнні L1 в школі й подальшому розвитку їхньої мовленнємовної компетентності.
Методи. Теоретичні (с...
This article presents the results of a case study with Romani speakers from Germany. Poverty among Roma communities in Europe is the reason for the growth of racism in almost all EU countries. On the other hand, Roma communities are becoming more organized and responding to existing forms of racism. One form of Roma response is emancipation and exp...
Background
The paper presents a study with 120 minority bilingual children from Bulgaria. 60 Roma-Bulgarian and 60 Turkish- Bulgarian children between the age of 3;6-5;0 years old are tested with two classical Theory of Mind tests, with two non-verbal Theory of Mind test, wh- questions using the mental state verb “to say”, and evidentiality test in...
Two age groups of Roma children (3;6-4;6 years old n = 20 and 4;7- 5;6 n = 20) from rural areas of Bulgaria were tested for understanding the classical Theory of Mind (TOM) task (False-belief) and the correlations with two language tests (Evidentiality and Yes/No Questions) were investigated. Coordinate with that the children were tested by means o...
This article constitutes a translation from the Russian of G.E. Sukhareva’s research report entitled (in English) ‘Toward the problem of the structure and dynamics of children’s constitutional psychopathies (Schizoid forms)’, which she delivered at the ‘behavioral’ conference in Leningrad in early 1930. Lev Vygotsky also presented on ‘difficult chi...
The article presents a study of Roma (Gypsy) children from Bulgaria as a contribution to the development of the Theory of Mind. In two studies (n = 60), so-called Fals Belief Tasks were conducted with children aged 3 to 6. The first survey was conducted with 30 rural children, and the second with 30 urban children living in a big city (capital). In...
Background. How the bilingual children understand the false belief of other people is a relevantly new topic in the fi eld of the developmental psychology. Th is question is very important one, because from it depends how early the bilingual children develop the «theory of mind». Th e literature shows controversial evidences regarding the age of bi...
The paper presents results from a comparative empirical L1 / L2 literacy study with first-grade Roma and non-Roma children, resident in Bulgaria and Slovakia. The Roma children growing up in traditional communities are socialized through the rich oral culture surrounding them. In the extended Roma families, the care of the children is responsibilit...
The paper presents results from a fieldwork study with Russian Roma children. Two groups of children, 6–8 years and 8–10 years old, were involved in the study. Before the pandemic crisis began in Russia, a large number of Roma children were kept home by the parents. The study was conducted in a Roma settlement of a small town not so far from Moscow...
This article presentsthe results of a study with Turkish preschool bilingual children living in Berlin, Germany. This article aims to examine the influence between the level of proficiency in the mother tongue (first language L1) and the official language (second language L2) on the one hand and the “theory of mind” on the other, or more precisely,...
The paper presents findings from psycholinguistic research with normally developing preschool Tatar-Russian bilingual children between the age of 4;0 to 6;0 years old. Forty children in total- twenty children between the age of 4;0 -5;0, and twenty children between the age of 5;0-6;0 were tested. Children with language impairment and mental disabil...
Цель нашего исследования - определить роль семантического синтаксиса в построении целостного монологического повествования дошкольниками. Исследование проводилось с русскоязычными детьми-дошкольниками из Москвы (Россия), в условиях детского сада, где дети получают организованное обучение языку и познавательному развитию. Двадцать детей в возрасте о...
Objectives. The aim of the paper is to analyze the process of acquisition of mental state verbs in Romani and in Bulgarian langauges simultaneously by bilingual Roma children. The mental state verbs help the children to understand the Fals Belief Tasks, which predict the Theory of Mind. The theory of mind from other side is important for understand...
Książka jest pierwszą od 20 lat w Europie próbą przekazania wiedzy na temat kwestii edukacji romskiej dzieci w wieku przedszkolnym i wczesnoszkolnym. Składa się z trzech części: historii edukacji romskiej, psycholingwistyki romskiej i edukacji o Holokauście Romów. Pierwsza część książki poświęcona jest zagadnieniom edukacyjnym Romów i ich rozwojowi...
The paper presents the phenomenon of language mixing with Bulgarian by Muslim Roma migrants from northeastern Bulgaria in Berlin, Germany. They identify as Turks and in their everyday communication speak mainly Bulgarian and old variety of Turkish, in the scientific literature known as Balkanized Turkish. They can speak relatively little German and...
The paper presents the issue of language use and identity among Muslim Roma youth from Bulgaria, living in Berlin, Germany. Interviews with a structured questionnaire on language use and identity was conducted with Bulgarian Muslim Roma living in Berlin, Germany. The results showed that, in order to be accepted by the German Turks, Bulgarian Muslim...
The paper presents results form a study on acquisition of Turkish grammatical categories by first grade Turkish speaking minority children in Bulgarian primary school. Two groups of children speakers of Turkish are tested: ethnic Turks and ethnic Roma. The Roma are Muslims and are also speakers of Turkish. Both groups speak the Northeast variety of...
How do bilingual Turkish children develop their mother tongue knowledge in German kindergartens and what are some of the difficulties they face? These are the questions which this paper tries to answer. For this purpose, a study with Turkish kindergarten children from Berlin, Germany was conducted. A total of 40 children were divided into two group...
How do bilingual Turkish children develop their mother tongue knowledge in German kindergartens and what are some of the difficulties they face? These are the questions which this paper tries to answer. For this purpose, a study with Turkish kindergarten children from Berlin, Germany was conducted. A total of 40 children were divided into two group...
The article presents research demonstrating that Roma children placed in special schools for ‘defective’ children in post-communist countries suffer not from learning disabilities or mental retardation, but from the tendency of such schools to misclassify minority students on the basis of their language knowledge. The research was done with Roma ch...
Using the critical work of Andreas Kazamias on the history and methods of comparative education as conceptual framework, we investigate the education (over a 200-year period) of the Slovak Roma. We position our story as paradigmatic of the dual processes of enlightenment and obscurantism with which we are familiar in thinking about the history of r...
The paper presents and discusses findings from a recent empirical study involving 40 Turkish children aged between 4 and 6 years attending two kindergartens in Berlin in the districts of Wedding and Neukölln. They were tested for their knowledge and comprehension of different grammatical categories in Turkish. Children from Wedding were found to be...
The language of school is very often an obstacle to the successful education of indigenous, migrant, and minority children. One such group in Europe, the Romani, constitutes an ideal case of educational injustice meeting linguistic difference, racism, social marginalization, and poverty. Notwithstanding its virtues, rights-based advocacy for langua...
The paper presents results from language testing of 70 Roma children from Bulgaria - pupils of grade 1, studying in one of the biggest Roma settlement’s schools in Sofia, “Fakulteta” district. The children were tested using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. The test measures language comprehension and language production of the children at the b...
The paper aims to present the acquisition of some grammatical categories in Romani language by children aged 3 and 6 years old. Roma children from Bulgaria and from Slovakia were tested with a test in Romani language. Categories such as wh-questions, wh complements, passive verbs and possessiveness are measured with newly developed test.The knowled...
In this paper we make one major point: that Roma children in Europe need to be tested in their mother tongue before school placement. Roma children are in a particularly perilous position with respect to their education. We describe the problematic linguistic situation of Roma children, who are bilingual and often bidialectal, but are frequently ev...
Abstract The Roma constitute an ideal case of educational injustice meeting linguistic difference, racism, social marginalization, and poverty. This paper asks whether human-rights or capabilities approaches are best suited to address issues related to the language education of Roma students in Europe. These children are disadvantaged by not growin...
The paper presents the process of language socialization and acquisition of grammatical categories through the Roma oral culture in which metaphors are extensively used. Roma children who grow up in extended Roma families and community learn the language through communication with speakers of different registers. Research with 22 Roma children betw...
The paper presents the work of a Berlin-based NGO (ANE) in Germany, which works with migrants and Arab refugees. The organisation has a strong record publishing a Parents Newsletter and conducting family counselling for migrants and refugees in Berlin. One of the major activities of the organisation in 2016 was an international conference with diff...
Objective. The paper examines knowledge of Romani grammatical categories among Roma children from Bulgaria and Slovakia between the ages of 3 and 6 years. Design. Roma children from Bulgaria and from Slovakia completed a psycholinguistic test in the Romani language. The test was developed for the first time in Europe to measure an individual's know...
The authors suggest the possibility of using concepts and practices drawn from peace education to assist in the treatment and education of refugees suffering from post-traumatic stress. They introduce four basic principles of peace education, which permit students/clients to work through memory and present conflicts, and calls on therapists/teacher...
This article takes up the question of why recent efforts to reform Roma education have been largely unsuccessful. Using case studies, the authors identify and discuss situations that have produced poor results: good intentions and bad realisations, good intentions and good realisations, and misguided intentions and bad realisations. They suggest in...
The paper presents the formation of some grammatical categories in Romani, spoken by some Roma groups in Balkan countries. Romani, belonging to Indo-Arian languages, preserves some of the grammatical system form Indian languages, however there are grammatical categories which are developed throughout the centuries due to the contacts of Romani with...
The paper presents the recent situation of Bulgarian Muslim Roma, speakers of Turkish, migrants in Germany. After their arrival to Germany most of the Bulgarian Muslim Roma contact the Turkish community, because they speak a variety of Turkish and it serves as a tool of communication. Being in a new environment, Bulgarian Muslim Roma learn a new fo...
This paper presents a study conducted with 40 Roma children from Slovakia, aged between 4-8 years, who are speakers of an ethnolect learned from their parents, but which in Slovak society is not considered to be a “good Slovak language”. Diagnostic tests in the official Slovak language were administered to the children in order to determine how wel...
The early childhood care and education (ECCE) of Roma children in EU
countries is a priority topic. The linguistic, social, cognitive, and educational
growth of the child in its first five or six years is a central issue in early
childhood education. In the process of child development in the first few years of a child’s life, the parents and commu...
The paper presents some new developments in Romani (Gypsy) language in connection with the process of its standardization. After analyzing published documents by international organizations such as Council of Europe, European Commission and others in Romani, the author tries to find some rules in the process of developing Romani neologism based on...
Kolejny tom z serii "Edukacja Międzykulturowa" traktuje o wartościach. Zagadnienia dotyczące wartości ujęte są zarówno w sposób właściwy aksjologii, a więc mają przedstawienia teoretyczne, jak i w nawiązaniach do praktyki społecznej, różnych zachowań pozostających w obszarze refleksji aksjologicznej. Wątkami łączącymi teksty zamieszczone w tym zbio...
The paper presents research findings from research on Roma children and their acquisition of different grammatical categories in the Romani language. Results from three different studies with Roma children from Bulgaria are discussed: acquisition of mental state verbs (MSV), Bates-MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories (CDI) in Romani and...
The paper presents findings from a survey of 720 respondents: 240 Roma parents, 240 Roma boys and 240 Roma girls between 12 and 25 years of age. The subjects were from various regions of Bulgaria and were members of different ethnic groups. The main goal of the survey was to study the current attitudes that Roma communities hold regarding an existi...
The present paper researches the abilities of Turkish adults from Bulgaria to create narratives. It analyses the narratives of the adults using discourse strategies. The findings show some problems of bilingual adults in creating narratives which are not discussed in the scientific literature. This paper brings some new knowledge to the field of bi...
Theory of Mind and evidentiality in Romani-Bulgarian bilingual children
The paper reports two studies of the development of false belief reasoning in bilingual Roma children in Bulgaria. No previous work has considered Roma children. Two studies were conducted, and in the second study the Roma children spoke a dialect of Romani that contains eviden...
The aim of this paper is to present good educational practices from Bulgaria that relate to Roma education. In the so‐called Years of Transition, educational conditions changed considerably. Non‐governmental organizations have attempted to promote high‐quality education for Roma children. The Bulgarian Ministry of Education has made various changes...
This article presents the language of Muslim Roms, who form a trilingual community in the northeastern part of Bulgaria, discussing language mixing between Romani, Turkish, and Bulgarian, applying the model of Myers- Scot ton (1993). Two different Roma linguistic groups are observed: speakers of Vlax (Zagondzi) and non-Vlax (Xoraxani). The non-Vlax...
This paper examines the degree of school adaptation among Roma children who were included in a program for the desegregation of Roma schools in Bulgaria. More specifically, the program requires Roma children to attend mixed classes with Bulgarian students and Roma teacher assistants to work with them. The Bulgarian version of the Questionnaire on S...
In this article I take a close look at the educational situation of Roma children and especially at the impediments that exist regarding their full participation in the educational process. At the present time the bilingualism of Roma children is either ignored or seen as a handicap. There is little appreciation in mainstream education of Roma cult...
The aim of this paper is to present the manner in which teachers and pupils interact in Bulgarian primary schools that are characterised by Roma attendance. For this purpose research was conducted with three groups of Roma children — Romani‐speaking, Turkish‐speaking and Romanian‐speaking children, who live in different parts of Bulgaria. The resea...
This article presents the state of bilingualism and bilingual education following the recent democratic changes in Bulgaria. During the Communist period of rule the rights of ethnic groups were not respected, and use of one's mother tongue was prohibited in the educational system. Since the democratical changes, which effected all of society, some...
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